


Country Girl

by RavenValentino



Category: Horse - Fandom, Ranchlife
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-12 15:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5670490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenValentino/pseuds/RavenValentino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie dreams of nothing but competing in the cow cutting and barrel racing competitions. But the only problem being that her father won't allow her to, as it's dangerous and doesn't want something to happen to his daughter. Until he enlists the help of Tristan as a new stable hand and behind Charlie's fathers back he offers to train her so she can enter the races in the competition season.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

I tapped the steering wheel as I drove to my daddies ranch just over the hill, the sun was warm as it shone into the cabin of my Dodge Ram truck, my window was wound down and my elbow was leaning onit and I was singing to the radio, I saw the ranch coming into view with the cow skull on top of the gate, I saw the horses just galloping out of the barn and into the field which had wooden fences separating them from the cattle. 

I beeped my horn as I came to the entrance as I saw dad bottle feeding one of our new arrivals which was a paint horse colt, I stopped by the fence and he said "before you break in any horses I need you to show around the new boy Tristan" 

"Yes" I replied. 

"Thanks Charlie" He said as I drove into the ranch and parked my truck next to his. 

So I pulled up the handbrake and then got out. "How's the Shelby?" I inquired. 

"She's been a little hard to fix up but hopefully I can fix her up" He replied. 

"If not I will help" I told him smiling. I walked into the house and then I walked into the ranch office where a young man sat in beige western style clothing, he had beautiful hazel eyes and his head was topped with a brown cowboy hat. 

"Tristan?" I asked and he nodded. "I am Charlotte Cortes" I introduced myself. "Have much experience in the ranch business?" I asked. 

"A little, I used to work on my dads ranch when I was younger" He told me. 

"Well we can start in the barn, the tack needs cleaning, and our two Clydesdale horses need grooming and the carriage needs to be set up and the horses need to be attached" I explained. 

So we did the chores in the barn and it took the two of us to get it done. "Hey Charlotte I cant do the martingale up" Tristan told me, so I walked under the Clydesdales stomach and then did it up for him. 

"Charlie please" I told him smiling. I then took him to the cattle barn, showing him where the feed is and how to get them in and out of the feeding stations, after I showed him the tack room, the garage where my Shelby sat. 

"That's a 1954isn't it?" He asked. 

"Yes, she's mine" I said. "Dad needs your help" I told him. He began to walk off, but then paused. 

"Hey Charlie give me a shout if you need help fixing up the Shelby" He offered putting his mirrored shades onto his eyes. I just smiled and then began the work on the truck, when dad walked over. 

"You know that palomino is waiting for you" Dad said nodding in her direction. 

"She's beautiful" I replied. 

"Go break her in" He told me. So I ran down to the ring where I decided to break in the filly, I rubbed her nose softly and then I slid my foot into the stirrup and I pulled myself onto her back, she was a little confused and wide eyed before she began to spin around and around, so I just gripped the saddle harder, she soon reared up and threw me against the fence but still I remained on her back. She tried bucking, rearing and kicking but I wasn't thrown. 

I could hear she was panting and her limbs couldn't take anymore so I halted her into the middle of the ring where I dismounted gently, I untacked her and then opened the gate slowly and I let her out into the field with the rest of the horses. I then brushed some of the mud from my clothes and then picked up the tack and took it to the barn, I then walked into mine and dads house I got a bottle of water and then returned to the barn to clean the tack, I was sitting on a hay bale scrubbing at a horses bit, when I noticed that Tristan was leaning on the wooden threshold of the door. 

"Charlie your dad gave me permission to fix your Shelby" He told me. 

"Okay, awesome" I smiled. "Did you want any help?" I asked. 

"Nah I am good but I will call if I do" he replied walking away.

"Okay" I 

said quietly smiling stupidly to myself, once the bit was clean I then decided to clean the bridle, once all the tack was done I wandered down to see how Tristan was doing with my truck. He had taken his hat off and laid it on the roof of my truck. 

"How you doing?" I called. 

"Erm...okay" he said, but I noticed he had the top of the gasket in his hand. 

"Let me" I said walking over and took the gasket top off him and put it in its rightful place. 

"I knew it went there" he said turning red. 

"Of course" I nodded smiling at him.

"Wanna go for a ride and stop at the bar for a drink?" I asked. 

"Sure" he nodded. 

So I went to find Dad and said "hey Tristan and I are going out for a drink" 

"Fine be safe" he told me. 

"I will" I sighed. 

"I've seen the way he looks at you" he told me. 

"Dad" I whined.

"What you're my only daughter, i love you and want to protect you" he said to me. 

"Fine, we won't be long" I told him. 

"Take Tilly and Zelda" he told me. 

Tilly was a black leopard spotted coated Appaloosa filly and Zelda was a bay mustang mare with a black muzzle, legs, mane and tail. When I got there both horses were tacked up and in the middle holding their reins was Tristan.  
"Ready to go?" I asked, pulling my black cowgirl hat down over my eyes a little. Tristan helped me to mount Tilly while he mounted Zelda, we then galloped off flicking dust up as we went. 

"Be careful!" Dad called after us. 

As soon we galled over the hill both Tristan and I raced each other!


	2. 2

We soon slowed as we came to a river, and we needed to cross it but however Tilly eyed it and sniffed it, she was a little scared but gave her a gentle nudge and she gingerly padded forward, the water touched her front feet and she just bent her head down to sniff it once again, she knew it wasn't going to harm her and so we walked through it. I turned her around to watch Tristan and Zelda. 

She lifted her head and spread her front feet as she was spooking a little, she only snatched her head and turned to the side. "Try walking her on" I said, so he nudged her in the ribs gently and turned her towards the river but once again she neighed and reared up slightly but not all the way up. Tristan began to make clicking noises and nudged her in the ribs and turned her towards the river, just as I thought she was going to stop she trotted through it soaking him. 

I just giggled as he joined me, we then carried on walking, passing through a wild herd of paint horses and Appaloosas who stopped grazing and turned to look towards us. One who looked similar to Tilly cantered over and rubbed his nose up against hers, she didn't flinch she was just as curious, he rubbed his head on her neck which gave me an opportunity to rub his nose. 

We soon left the wild herd behind, we soon broke out into a gallop and I stood in the saddle, I managed to take a glance at Tristan but he was a little way behind. "Keep up" I yelled. I circled my horse around and galloped around him, till finally Zelda caught up. We galloped through a forest leaping and bounding over fallen trees and logs, there was a thick branch from a tree hanging over in the path so I ducked, but and called out to Tristan. 

There was soon a ditch in front of us and Tilly slipped down the ditch in the mud, so I grabbed his mane and tried to hang on tight so I wasn't thrown over his head. He struggled to get out, but I let him walk slowly till finally he was on the other side. "Tristan please be careful, Zelda may slip" I warned him. I heard a splash and as I looked around Zelda was up to her stomach in mud like Tilly was. 

"Walk her out slowly" I told him, so he did and she rested her head on the neck of Tilly. "Aw is someone tired?" I cooed to Zelda scratching her nose, she just blinked and then took her head off looking at the mud she had just crossed. I just sat there stroking my horses neck and looking over the valley that we were on top of, there were multiple paddocks in front of us holding a variety of different horses, a bug school and training ring down the bottom as well as stables. 

I saw a few American Saddlebreds grazing down the bottom, they were mostly liver chestnut with dark manes, but there was a bright chestnut filly with four white socks and a creme mane and tail, she used to be dads prized mare till he had to sell her off in order to save the ranch. My horse shook her whole body before lifting her head up to yawn, which made Tristan and I giggle, I had to lean back in the saddle in order so she didn't hit my. 

We were in the middle of the heat wave and both of the horses were panting like crazy, but the temperature had risen from the coolness this morning to this blistering heat now, we were stood in the shade but it was still warm in the shade. We cantered down the dry valley path and we trotted through an arena area where cattle cutting, pole bending and barrel racing takes place, but it was quiet for us since the competition season hadn't started. I gazed enviously at the arenas and Tristan happened to notice. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I wish I could compete" I replied. 

"Why not? You seem to be a good enough rider" he replied.

"My dad is too scared" I answered. 

"Why?" He asked. 

"Because my mother was competing in the barrel racing, her horse slipped out from under her, he rolled over onto my mother crushing her rib cage. She was rushed to hospital but soon died from her injuries" I explained halting Tilly and taking in a deep shaky breath trying to keep myself calm and not cry. But I failed and the tears dribbled down my cheeks. With a gentle push on the horses side he pushed Zelda closer to me and rested his hand on my shoulder. 

"It's okay" he told me, then began to rub his hand up and down my back comfortingly, I did mind it was nice to finally talk to someone other than dad about it. 

"Thanks but all I can do is dream" I said to him. 

We were soon walking once again but quietly, we didn't say a word to one another. All that could be heard was the horses hooves on the sandy gravelly ground, as well as the horses snorting every now and then. We were soon approaching the town and I could see the bar from where we were going to stop there were a load of trucks parked up outside. We carefully walked single file on the road and there was a tethering post for our horses next to one of the trucks, but that have been there since this town was built which back in the western period. 

Tristan dismounted and tethered the horses then I dismounted but with the help of Tristan as he held the stirrup strap on the other side. "Thanks" I smiled and then we both wandered in.


End file.
